Clark Gregg Teases Phil Coulson’s Crush On Thor In Marvel’s What If…?

Actor Clark Gregg is set to make his return in the MCU as Phil Coulson in Marvel’s What If…? The character is said to have a bit of a crush on Thor this time. Clark has been playing Paul since 2008’s Iron Man, which was the start of Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The character had returned in The Avengers but he died at the hands of Loki. But because death is not permanent in the world of comic book properties, the character was returned for Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV show. He became the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Clark continued to play the character for seven seasons.

Paul had returned to the film, Captain Marvel in 2019 yet again where he was de-aged via special effects to play his younger version. During the character’s time in the MCU, he was shown to be a fan of the Avengers he was working with. Paul had Captain America trading cards as he was his favourite. After the character’s death, Nick Fury is still seen using the cards with the blood added to spur the Avengers into action.

However, on his return this time, Paul is a fanboy of another hero. In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, the actor discussed his upcoming comeback as Paul Coulson in the MCU. Clark was asked how Paul seems to be a big fan of Thor’s appearance. The actor responded enthusiastically saying, “Oh my gosh, yes.”

What If..? Will See Loki, Thor and Paul Coulson In The Next Episode

Clark looked back at Paul’s love for Chris Evans’ Captain America as he said, “So apparently, there is no Chris that I don’t have a huge crush on.” The actor was then asked about the recording process for the show and he explained that he was allowed to do adlibbing. He said,

“Oh my gosh, yes. I mean, look, it’s very true to life in that the guy who plays Agent Coulson has certainly spent his fair amount of time marveling at Hemsworth in all his glory. [Laughs] So apparently, there is no Chris that I don’t have a huge crush on.”

He explained how earlier they only asked him to “riff a little”. The actor recalled when he was first interrogating Thor and they told him to stop. He said there was some improv and he was asking Thor who he is and where did he come calling him a beautiful WWF wrestler Viking god. Clark said it’s hard not to as Paul has been having the most fun of anybody.

The actor said, “That’s also always been one of the funniest things about Coulson; is that he might be having the most fun of anybody; — unless he’s being shanked by the god of mischief.” As for the upcoming episode of What If..? we will see Loki arriving on Earth before he was supposed to. Paul will have to deal with the God of Mischief as he would still be a S.H.I.El.L.D. agent. Thor enters the mix in the possible effort to bring his brother and Paul finds himself in the presence of his new hero.